Controversial Argentine filmmaker Jorge Polaco dies at age 67

Argentine filmmaker Jorge Polaco died yesterday in Buenos Aires following a cardiac arrest. He was 67 and had been suffering from Parkinson for several years.

Though sensitive and delicate, he was one of the Argentina’s most controversial filmmakers due to his disturbing manners of perception and understanding of the world.

His most polemic production was Kindergarten, starring Arturo Puig and Graciela Borges, which was finally released at Mar del Plata Film Festival in 2011 — 22 years after being censored for “obscene scenes and the corruption of minors.”

Although challenged by physical difficulties, last year Polaco released a special version of the film Príncipe azul, based on a short play by Eugenio Griffero which was part of the legendary theatre movement Teatro Abierto. Starring Ariel Bonomi and Harry Havilio, it is the story of a love relationship between two 16-year-old young men who, after being separated by their families, promise each other to meet 60 years later.

Bonomi, who worked in many of Polaco’s films, said that the director made “moving and touching” films. “He was contemplative, fidgety and obsessive, searching for an aesthetic salutary lesson,” Bonomi said. “He had always known what he wanted the actor to express and has a special ability to induce performers to find their characters. It was always a pleasure to work with him,” he added.